


Four Times Will and Nico Were Cute Plus One Time They Weren't

by im_a_sin_what_a_tragedy



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: 4+1 Things, Boys Kissing, Character Death, Cuddles, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay, Getting Together, Height Differences, Jason and Piper are NOT together, Kinda, M/M, Murder, Nico and Leo are BFFs, Nico di Angelo and Will Solace are Cute, Nightmares, Persephone (Percy Jackson) is a Good Parent, Possessive Will Solace, Protective Will Solace, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018) References, Short Nico di Angelo, Suicide, Tall Will Solace, They love each other uwu, Trauma, Truth or Dare, Will Solace is a Good Boyfriend, drug overdose, first I love you, i got emotional writing this, solangelo, they cute, wlw author
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:06:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27370912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/im_a_sin_what_a_tragedy/pseuds/im_a_sin_what_a_tragedy
Summary: Will Solace and Nico di Angelo are cute(until they aren't)
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 27
Kudos: 79





	1. Chapter 1

It was a beautiful sunny day, the sun was shining beautifully down on Camp Half-Blood. It was pretty warm, but not to the point where it was uncomfortable. Campers all around were sitting outside in the sun. Some at the beach, some at the stables, some had even found a random spot on the ground. It was a calm Saturday, so everyone just relaxed. The life of a demigod was hard. All the constant fighting of monsters and each other. The training so they didn’t get killed. Everyone was able to finally have a little bit of peace. There was no doubt some kind of mythological problem would pop up soon enough, but that was a problem for later. The campers just happily relaxed.

And William Andrew Solace hated it. Not the fantastic weather, he thought it was pretty great. He hated that he wasn’t spending it with the person he liked. His  _ crush.  _ He had gotten a few invitations to hang out with some of his siblings and friends, but he politely declined. The one person who wasn’t out enjoying the day was Nico di Angelo. He wasn’t one to bask out in the warm sun, and today was no exception.

Will ventured to the Hades cabin to find the boy. The day was amazing, perfect even. Even better, it was perfect for Will’s plan. He had known Nico for a long time, ever since he came to camp. Even then he had a little crush on him, although then he thought it was just because Nico was new(not the case). Seeing him again during the fight with Camp Jupiter brought up those little boy feelings again, but even stronger. He was old enough to know that he was majorly crushing on the son of Hades. Will would never admit it, but the whole “Stay in the infirmary for three days” was just a pathetic excuse for wanting to spend time with Nico.

He spotted the son of Zeus, Jason, “Jason!” he called out. The both blondes walked towards each other.

“Hey Will, what’s up?” Jason was a little confused on why Will was talking to him. They never really hung out much or anything(a certain someone talked about him though).

“Do you know where Nico is? I checked his cabin and a few other places, but I just can’t seem to find him,” Will blushed as he spoke, hoping the other teen wouldn’t notice.

Jason knowingly smirked, “Oh I see,” He thought for a few seconds, “Why don’t you go ask Piper. I think she’ll know,” The staple eater gave a small salute before walking away.

Will didn’t think anymore about it and walked to the beach where had seen her earlier. The son of Apollo tried to think about finding Piper. If he thought about his plan or Nico he would most likely get anxious and chicken out, which he did not want to do. The pining had been okay at first, but now it was getting bad. Will knew if he held onto his feelings any longer he would probably combust.

Fortunately for him the beach wasn’t far, and he was there within a few minutes. He quickly spotted Piper. She was sitting with the famous couple, Percy and Annabeth. Percy was being… well Percy and loudly splashing around in the water. Becoming inpatient, he ran over to them(it wasn’t super fast because of the sand). Annabeth and Piper heard Will’s loud steps on the sand and watched as he came towards them.

“Hey guys!” The blonde was tired from his little sand sprint, panting lightly.

“Hey Will,” They both greeted at the same time(it was kind of creepy).

Will looked at Piper, “I’m looking for Nico. Jason told me to ask you,” The healer was a little nervous to talk about Nico with her. Piper was very nice, and not in a fake way. She was overall awesome. But since Nico and Jason were close that extended to Piper, being the son of Zeus’s best best friend. Nico didn’t have a lot of friends, but the ones he did have were  _ very  _ protective of him(including a certain son of Apollo). He was also pretty concerned about Percy and Annabeth. So yeah. Will was afraid to get his neck snapped.

“ _ Oh, _ ” The only way to describe the look on Piper’s face was sneaky uwu, “You don’t say,”

Annabeth looked smug and the teen had a feeling everyone knew more than they were letting on.

“Um… Yeah?” Will awkwardly fidgeted where he stood, “So, can you tell me where he is?”

“Do you know why Jason sent you over here?” Piper asked.

“No, I don’t,” He was horribly confused.

“Well you see,” She explained, “As a daughter of Aphrodite I have a special talent for finding people in situations like this.”

“What do you mean in situations like this?” Will couldn’t see himself, but he looked like an eight year-old nervous for a flu shot.

Annabeth finally spoke up, “We know Will. It’s obvious enough. You’re usually fine talking to us, but as soon as Nico comes up. You made him stay in the infirmary for three days, which you probably wouldn’t do for anyone in his condition. You also spend as much time as you can with him when you obviously could be doing other things. You seek him out when we have to do partners or groups, and pretty much any other time. You stare at him during dinner and pretty much any other time you have the chance. You've been doing all of these things constantly for a while. Enough to seem suspicious. Today is probably the nicest day this year. Most people would have grouped up with friends already, but here you are running around trying to look for Nico. You would do this any day, but today is different. You’re more impatient and nervous. You plan to tell him how you feel. All that time pining has you over the edge. You’re nervous and afraid of rejection, but you know keeping it in is worse. Part of you wants to keep the pain of your feelings being bottled up though. You desperately don’t want to lose Nico. You hope he feels the same way, you keep telling yourself that, but there’s a seed of doubt telling you otherwise. But your optimism is winning. You want to find him fast so you don't lose the courage and chicken out.”

She definitely had Athena’s wisdom. It scared Will how smart and observant she was. If she figured all that out, what did she know? He internally shivered at the thought.

“Yeah what she said,” Piper agreed, “And you just stay here. I have a feeling Nico will be over here soon,” Will didn’t understand how she could know. He couldn’t see the small teen anywhere around them.

“Hey guys,” Nico walked out of Will’s shadow in front of them. The medic froze in disbelief. How did she know that? Could children of Aphrodite sense stuff like that? Maybe it was a coincidence, but he didn’t try to think about it more than he should. Ever since arriving at Camp Half-Blood he had learned to accept that some things just can’t be explained.

“Hey Nico,” Will tried as hard as he could to not sound nervous.

“Oh, hey Will,” Nico greeted him more gently than with other people. Or at least that’s what Will thought.

“I was actually just looking for you,” Will gave a nervous chuckle, “I wanted to talk with you… If that’s okay,” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“Oh yeah, that’s totally fine,” Will and Nico walked away from the others. The taller looked back to see them giving him thumbs up.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Nico asked encouragingly. He was short and barely past the other’s chin.  _ So smol,  _ the son of Apollo thought.

The blonde furiously blushed from both the situation and his thoughts,“Well you see… Oh gods. I just- I… you-” He stumbled over his words. He had been preparing himself for this all day, impatient for it to happen.

Nico stopped walking to put a hand on his friend’s shoulder, “It’s okay Will. You can tell me anything. You’re probably my best friend,” He smiled up the other boy. That  _ smile.  _ The blonde didn’t know how he hadn’t fainted from it’s beauty. He took a deep breath.

“You’re my best friend too,” Will looked down at the shorter, making eye contact, “Ever since we started hanging out, I felt a connection. I love spending time with you, and it’s one of my favorite things to do. I care about you more than you can imagine. I never want to see you hurt in any way. And that’s all because… well… I um. I like you. In more than friends ways. I have been pining for a pretty long time and I just had to tell you. I completely get it if you don’t like me back, I’m not expecting you too or anything either. I just… I just needed to get that off my chest.”

“Wow,” The Italian had not been expecting that, “Do you really like me? This isn’t some prank?”

“What? No of course not,” Will was anxious, “I would never do something like that to you.”

“Well then, I-I like you too,” Nico looked anywhere, but the other’s eyes. His cheek burned red with embarrassment.

“You do?!” Will shockingly yelled, “If you like me and I like you...”

“Yeah...” Nico looked at him expectantly. 

“Maybe I could be your boyfriend?” Even though they had both confessed he had a fear that Nico would say so(it was stupid fear).

“Yes!” For the first time ever, the son of Hades initiated the hug. He wrapped his arms around his now boyfriend’s neck. The taller put his arms around the other’s waist and held him. They were both inexplicably happy. For Nico there was a feeling of joy he had lost along with his sister. The childlike excitement he hadn’t felt in so long.

From their spot on the sand Piper and Annabeth spoke at the same time, “They’re so cute!


	2. Chapter 2

Not much had changed between Will and Nico since they got together. Everything was just a lot more… coupley. For example: the pair would often take walks. Now when they took walks they held hands. Before they would often eat meals together making light conversation. Now they talked, but with lovestruck looks in their eyes. Will would hold back every moment he wanted to see Nico, and he wanted to see him a lot. Often he repressed the feeling, not wanting to look clingy. Now he had a perfect excuse. Nico was his boyfriend. Will sighed at the thought.  _ His  _ boyfriend. All those pining feelings were still there and he still melted at the word.

Percy had done something to anger Zeus, lord of the sky, so it was raining. It even looked to be on the verge of a storm. A lot of the campers(especially the newer ones) had no idea what to do. It rarely rained, and only did when Zeus was mad. Everyone was running around trying to get to cover. The wind furious raged, blowing away hats and papers alike. Will was running back to his cabin for cover. It wasn’t too far, but he definitely would get soaked.

Just as he was about to make a run for it he heard someone calling, “Will!” It was from cabin three, “Will! Over here!” He couldn’t make out who was calling him. The rain affected much of his vision. Nonetheless he ran towards the voice.

Someone held the door open from the inside and Will rushed in. The cabin was warm compared to the weather outside. The blonde shivered in his soaking clothes. They clung to his body, uncomfortably, making him more cold than he was. When he finally looked up to see who was there, he was thankfully met with friends, and not a kidnapper. The couple, Percy and Annabeth were the first people he saw. He guessed Percy had called and opened the door for him because it was his cabin. Jason, Leo, and Piper were there too. And of course Nico was there too. Everyone there would probably brave the storm just to drag him all the way here.

Before he could say thanks, he was hit in the face with a towel, “Here you go Solace,” He didn’t know who said it, but he took it anyway. He said thanks, but not to anyone in particular.

He wrapped the towel around his body, “Sorry to ask, but do you have any clothes I can borrow?

“Got you bro,” Percy shuffled through his draws, “We’re probably about the same height and stuff, it’ll be easy to find something,” He pulled out an orange camp shirt and some cargo shorts. Will mentally gave him kudos for recognizing his everyday attire.

“Thanks man!”

“No problem,” He looked between Will and Nico, “Anything for my future brother-in-law!”

Nico was lucky he hadn’t been drinking anything because he surely would have choked, “W-what?” He sputtered, “You’re not even my brother!”

“Well I mean, I’m practically your older brother!” Percy happily explained.

“Wait no!” Jason spoke up, “ _ I’m  _ his older brother, therefore Will is  _ my  _ future brother-in-law!” They continued to argue on the matter. The banter itself was more of a joke, but they seemed to be somewhat serious.

Nico walked over to his boyfriend as the commotion was going on, “Hey,” He smiled(the one that was only for his significant annoyance).

“Well hello sunshine,” Will smiled back just as much.

“I would hug you but you’re drenched,” Nico scrunched his nose, “Thought about it, but it’s just not worth it. Go dry off and change in the bathroom,” He pointed towards the other side of the cabin.

“Awe come on!” He pretended to be disappointed, “I guess I’ll just die then. No more hugs from you equals death!” He put his hand on his chest dramatically.

Nico giggled, “Well okay then you can go die,” He poked at the other’s chest, “But at least do it while in clean, dry clothes.”

Will laughed at his words and then walked towards the bathroom. He changed and dried off fairly quickly, not wanting to keep his friends waiting. Knowing them they had some kind game or thing planned. Ever since he got together with Nico he had connected a lot with his boyfriend’s close friends. He had gotten along with them well before, but now Will could proudly say they were his friends too. It was a little weird for him also though. Throughout all his stay at Camp Half-Blood Percy and Annabeth were seen as the popular kids, maybe even royalty. Being up close the son of Apollo could now see that they were normal teenagers like him. He was often able to nerd out with Jason who liked some of the same stuff as him. Piper was just really good to have a conversation with(maybe some gossip) and hang out with. Leo was a pretty funny dude with dad jokes galore. The blonde hadn’t had much of a friend group before. He was good with people and had many friends, but never a group. It was definitely different, but it was nice.

Everyone had gathered in a circle on the floor. Will sat next Nico and put out his arms, wanting a hug. Nico laughed and granted him his wish. The shorter was about to let go, but the other boy just held him tighter. The son of Hades didn’t fight it, and let him get pulled into the blonde’s lap. Will hugged him firmly from behind and comfortably set his head on top of Nico’s.

“Ok guys,” Percy said, “We are gonna play truth or dare!” Most of them were neutral to the idea, but Leo was ecstatic and Nico groaned.

Percy looked at Nico, “No complaining now, this is happening,” He had a suspiciously mischievous smile, “Lets see… Piper you can go first!”

“Hmmm,” Piper thought about what victim she should choose, “Leo!”

“Truth!” His choice surprised everyone, but that was probably the point of decision.

“What’s a fandom you’re in, and haven’t told anybody?” Leo’s smug grin fell. Piper was smart, she knew how to really embarrass people.

“Uggghhh fuck you Piper,” He sighs, “Voltron Legendary. I like the show and I’m a Klance shipper,” He crossed his arms and blushed with embarrassment. 

“I fucking knew it!” The daughter of Aphrodite yelled.

“Yeah yeah,” Leo waved her off, “Percy! Truth or dare my friend.”

“Dare!” Annabeth shook her head at her boyfriend's actions.

“I dare you to kiss one person in the room,” Leo grinned.

“Pshhh easy,” Percy waved it off and leaned in to kiss his girlfriend.

“No no no my dude,” His grin went even wider, “Anyone  _ but Annabeth, _ ” He rubbed his hands together. Since Leo was a smaller guy he could only be compared to an evil fly.

Percy glared, “I see your game Valdez,” He looked around the room weighing his options, “Leo, I hate you right now. Nico, you’re too young, and Will, you’re with Nico. Piper, I’m pretty sure you would kill me, but that’s cool.”

“I would kill you."

“Jason,” He pointed at the older blonde, “I choose you. You’re one of my bros. And you’re also pretty hot.”

The teen in question blushed a little, “I’m done,” He was about to walk towards Percy before he paused, “You cool with this Annabeth?” Long story short, Jason didn’t want to die.

Annabeth smiled, “Go ahead, it’s cool. Matter of fact, you can even kiss and whatever whenever you want,”

Jason shrugged, “Well okay then,” He and Percy stood up and walked to the center of their circle. They leaned in and kissed. It was brief, and surprisingly not of them were embarrassed. They just shrugged it out and went to their respective seats across from each other.

“Ok then,” The son of Poseidon said, “It’s my turn. Will! Truth or dare?”

“I’ll go with truth,” He would have gone for dare, but Will was too comfortable cuddling with his boyfriend.

“Hmmm,” He looked away in thought, “I’ll go easy on you. What couple costume do you wanna do with Nico?”

“That’s actually a good question,” It was appropriate too with Halloween a few weeks away, “Catradora. Me as Adora and Nico as Catra,” He looked proud of his answer. Will didn’t even bother to explain where they were from either.The whole group had watched the netflix show  _ She-Ra Princess of Power _ (and loved it). Everyone laughed, and gave approving nods.

“Nico say it!” Piper exclaimed.

“Say what?”

“You know what I mean,” She raised her eyebrows.

Nico looked confused, but then quickly realized what she meant, “Ugh fine,” He sighed and looked at his boyfriend, “ _ Hey Will, _ ” The blonde furiously blushed. Of course it didn’t actually sound like the show, but it had the same effect. This also made everyone burst out laughing.

“Okay okay,” He was still flustered, “Piper! Truth or dare?”

“Dare obviously,” She rolled her eyes.

“I dare you to charm speak yourself.”

She tilted her head in confusion, “Can I even do that? Is that even possible? How would I even...?”

“Never know until you try,” Leo piped up.

She uncertainly stood up and walked towards a mirror, “Um yeah,” She looked herself in the eyes, “Um… What should I even say?”

“Oh um I don’t know,” Will thought, “Do ten pushups?” The whole situation was weird. Everyone was curious. You can do things out of free will, but to make yourself do something? Control yourself? The whole concept was confusing.

“Well okay then,” She held firm eye contact with the mirror and spoke, “Do ten push ups,” Nothing happened and she tried again even harder, “ _ Do ten push ups, _ ” She abruptly got down and started doing push ups. Everyone watched in awe as she did so.

She finished her task, “Okay that was weird. Is what it feels like when some charm speaks you? Wow,” Everyone uneasily laughed. The whole concept of what just happened was freaky, “Anyways, Annabeth, truth or dare?”

“I’ll go with dare.”

Piper had an evil grin on her face, “I dare you to write fanfiction.”

“What kind of fanfiction,” She could tell the other girl had some sort of despicable plan.

“It has to be about you and Hera. Together. In a relationship,” Everyone burst out in laughter(except Annabeth), “It can’t be shitty writing either. It has to be some good quality fanfiction. And when you are done you have to show everyone.”

“Why do you hate me Piper?” She groaned, “Can I at least start it after the game? It’s gonna take a bit to write it,” She knew she could finish it somewhat fast, she was already of plots in her head. The poor daughter of Athena just wanted a little peace before she was killed by embarrassment and/or Hera.

“We’ll finish this round and then we’ll pause the game so you can write it,” She reasoned, “But you have to think about it!” She grunted in agreement.

“Nico, truth or dare?” 

The teen in question answered simply, “Dare,” He hoped he wouldn’t have to get up. Turns out boyfriend laps were the most comfortable chairs.

“Do something you’ve never done before,” No one thought about the dare too much, but there was a reason behind it. She was just as much of a Solangelo shipper else(everyone shipped it  _ very  _ hard), and just wasn’t as loud about it. No one thought she would be one to scheme in something like this, so she was taking that to her advantage.

“Something I’ve never done before,” The Italian muttered. There were plenty of things he had never done before. He may have travelled around the world, but he was still fourteen(technically not though). He had to narrow down his options. It had to be something he could do in the cabin, nothing that would hurt him(his healer boyfriend would freak out), and it should be something he would like to do. That still left many things though, “Got it!” He finally thought of something.

“What is it?” Jason asked.

“You’ll see,” Everyone expected him to get up, but he didn’t. Instead he turned around in Will’s lap, facing him. Will’s arms stayed at his smaller boyfriend’s waist, and he was thoroughly confused. Without a warning, Nico grabbed Will’s collar and pulled him forward in a kiss. The blonde quickly got over his shock and kissed back. He discovered that Nico’s were everything he imagined and more. They were incredibly soft, but a little cold. He didn’t though. He was kissing the great Nico di Angelo, the ghost king. His short boyfriend. It only lasted for a few seconds though. They both had enough respect for their friends not to make out in front of them. Annabeth smirked, her plan worked just as she knew it would.

“Awwwww,” Percy and Jason exclaimed at the same time.

Percy put his hand on his chest, “My heart! You guys are so fucking cute!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I love She-Ra so much asdkfhasdfh. I actually drew Will and Nico as Catradora(Catra and Adora) because yeah.


	3. Chapter 3

More often than not, demigods made bad decisions.  _ Stupid  _ decisions . It seems like it came with the whole deal. Almost get killed and make stupid decisions. Yup that seems about right. So it’s been established, demigods make bad decisions, but what happens after? And that’s when Will comes in. Demigods regularly find ways to hurt themselves, and the healer had to be there to help them. He’d fixed everything from paper cuts to severed arms. Not only did he have to help peoples injuries, but also had to deal with difficult patients. Sometimes they would come in for completely nothing, thinking they were about to die(and vice versa). Most demigods were ADHD and that was also often an issue. So here he was. Fixing Leo’s dumbass.

Will pinched the bridge of his nose, “What the fuck did you?” Percy was carrying the boy bridal style because he obviously couldn’t walk by himself. The angle of his elbow was bigger than it should be, his leg was twisted wrong at the knee, and he seemed to have skinned his forehead(which was bleeding).

Leon smiled dopily, “Will my man! Well you're not  _ my _ man, you’re Nico’s man. You guys are so good together! And you’re tall too!” Leo lowered his voice slightly(he was still ridiculously loud), “Nico told me not to say anything, but he likes that you’re tall. I mean  _ really  _ likes it. He has a thing for height differences. And also he likes it when you call him kitten! He says he doesn’t because he’s embarrassed. But you can’t say anything! Promise you won't tell?” Leo held out his uninjured arm for a picky promise. The healer held his hand out to seal the promise with a concerned look on his face. There was no doubt the teen had hit his head. Although this wasn’t the best situation, Will was grateful for the information. He would definitely use it later, but he wondered why Nico would tell Leo of all people.

He ignored the rest of Leo’s ramblings and turned to Percy, “What happened?”

“He fell off the climbing wall,” Percy hadn’t said much, but Will got the point.

He took Leo away from the other’s arms and set him on one of the cots, “You can stay if you want, but otherwise, you’re free to go.”

“No it’s cool, I’ll stay,” He looked down at Leo, “I don’t think I’ll have a clean conscience if I just leave him here,” The blonde only nodded and got to work.

Leo definitely hit head harder than Will had originally thought. There was a huge ugly bruise on his face. And now that Will got close he could see that his nose was broken. His arm and leg were skinned and bleeding. It seems as if he only landed on that side of his body. All along the right side of his body was bloody or bruised. First Will cleaned and wrapped all of the bloody parts. During the process Leo whined about how much it stung, or how he was completely fine, and could go.

“Percy can you distract him for a second?” He only nodded and started to tell Leo some kind of story. Surprisingly he seemed pretty invested and shut up(finally). Will grabbed Leo’s arm and set it back in place.

“HOLY MOTHER OF FUCK,” Leo howled as tears pricked at his eyes, “I thought we were friends Solace!”

“Sorry Leo, it had to be done. It’s okay I don’t have to do it again,” That was a lie of course. Percy continued to talk and the medic placed his hands on the injured leg. He braced himself for the scream and pushed it to where it was supposed to go.

“Will!” He whined, there were now tears rolling down his face, “I trusted youuu!” Leo sounded like an utter child. It was definitely a consequence of hitting his head.

“Sorry buddy," He wasn’t sorry whatsoever, but he needed to get Leo into a false sense of security, “I'm done now. I promise,” For comedic one hundred percent purposes, he crossed his fingers behind his back.

Percy looked at him and whispered, “You still have to get his nose right?” The blonde nodded as the son of Hephaestus silently cried.

“Oh look,” Will said, seemingly innocent, “You have something on your nose! Let me get that for you,” He moved his hands closer. To Leo it looked like he was simply going to wipe some dirt off his nose, but however that was not the case. Without a warning Will put his hands on the other's nose and snapped it back into place.

“AH FUCK YOU WILL SOLACE,” His good hand went to his face, “Wait no. Fuck Nico not yourself. And also you're very mean,” He frowned.

Will shrugged, ”That’s my job,” He did not specify which though.

Leo whined and complained as the medic continued to do his job. He put on a cast for the teen’s leg and arm. It took longer than it should’ve because of the shorter’s constant squirming and complaints. When all that mess was done, he gave Leo some pills for his head. He may not feel it now, but Leo was going to be in a great deal of pain in the near future.

“Oh my gods what happened?” All three demigods turned to see Jason had walked in.

“Jason!” Leo exclaimed.

“He got into a bit of a tumble on the rock climbing wall,” Percy explained.

“Oh that’s horrible,” His expression was laced with worry, “You good buddy?”

He absentmindedly giggled, “Are  _ you  _ good?” This is definitely what drunk Leo would sound like.

“So, do you need something or…?” Will said, “Wait no that sounded rude-”

“No no!” Jason interrupted, “I was here for something. The Hades cabin was looking extra dark and I was a little worried. I think Nico would rather have you check on him.”

Whenever Nico had nightmares or was in distress(they often came hand in hand), the air would get darker, the temperature would drop, and any vegetation around would rot. Even if Nico kept his emotions inside, those things were a huge give away, “Can you watch Leo Percy?” The son of Poseidon gave a nod and Will ran off.

He hated seeing his boyfriend in a state of hurt. He didn’t know if it was the healer or son of Apollo side of him, but his feelings were so intense. He cared so much for the other teen he couldn't stand to see him in pain. He didn’t want anyone at camp to hurt, but for Nico the feeling was so much more. The fact he was in pain was overwhelming for Will. It never physically hurt, but the thoughts weighed heavily on his brain. If he could, he would make Nico never leave his cabin. Stay there all day, all the time, just so he couldn’t get hurt. Unfortunately for the blonde, he couldn’t do that. Everyone assumed Will was protective, and that was true. What they didn’t realize it had crossed the line to possessive. He hid it very well under all his smiles, when in truth he wanted Nico with him at all times. To watch and make sure the brunette was okay. Protect him from the cruel world. The medic felt guilty that he hadn’t been able to do it before, so he would do everything in his power to do it now. He didn’t know what he would do without the other. 

Will wasn’t sure if his worry got better or worse when he stood at the Hades cabin entrance. Before he opened the door and walked in, he braced himself. It was colder around the cabin than the rest of the camp. The Hades cabin was always a little dark, but this time it was worse. The grass was slowly dying also. It didn’t seem like the worst situation, but it definitely wasn’t anywhere near good. The blonde never thought it was.

“Nico?” The cabin lights were off, and there was a rustling noise. He pinpointed the source of the noise to see it was coming from the darkest place in the room. It was hard to truly tell, but he knew it was Nico. The smaller boy’s motion got more violent as he thrashed around on his bed, tangled in his blanket. Will could tell that the boy was asleep, the blonde’s presence would be noticed by now. Still he was slow and cautious as he walked towards his boyfriend. 

He carefully caught Nico’s wrists and held them firmly, “Nico. Nico!” His touch seemed to calm the boy down, but he hadn’t woken up yet, “Nico! Kitten wake up! It’s not real! I’m here, it’s me Will! Come on get up.” 

Will knew everything would be fine, it always was. Nico had been through so much trauma throughout his life, it came to haunt him. Nightmares were bad enough for demigods alone, but things were worse for the son of Hades. Losing his family, seeing Tartarus, his encounter with Cupid, and many other events had left a mark on his life. 

Nico gasped and sat up, “Huh?” Looking down at his wrists to find the blonde gripping them and frowned, “That was horrible.”

“I bet it was,” Will responded. Tears threatened to spill out of the brunette’s eyes, “Do you wanna talk about it?”

The shorter sighed, “Nothing you haven’t heard before...”

“Well,” The medic held out his arms, “Do you wanna cuddle?”

The other didn’t say anything and just pulled his boyfriend under his blanket. His head rested against the taller’s chest, his arms wrapped up around the blonde's neck. Will chuckled and held Nico’s waist. They laid in comfortable silence before Will brought up a hand to his boyfriend’s dark hair and began stroking it. The younger sighed in a way that can only be described as the human version of a purr. As minutes passed on the room got lighter and warmer. It was still somewhat cold, but the boys had each other to keep warm. Nico often got cold, so his thick blanket helped too. They weren’t sure if it was a son of Hades thing, but he had a harder time keeping warm than most people. This caused him to be wrapped up in blankets at the slightest cold. The Italian was embarrassed, but the blonde thought it was adorable. He thought all of Nico was adorable. But it was more than that.

“I love you,” It was abrupt and the other had not been expecting it.

Nico leaned back to face the other, “What?” It was more of disbelief than an actual question.

“Sorry! It just slipped out,” Will sputtered, “But I do mean it. And in no way do I expect you to say it back and-”

“I love you too,” The shorter giggled at his boyfriend’s little panic.

“Oh,” Will blushed, “That’s good!” They both chuckled.

Nico buried his face back in the medic’s chest, “This is nice,” The other hummed in agreement.

Will looked at the window, “Have those roses always been there?” Black and yellow roses curled around each other climbing on the window pane. 

Down in the Underworld a goddess was watching. Four years ago Persephone couldn’t care less about her step-son’s life. She didn’t like him very much upon their first meetings and for some time after. Hades had been tired of rivalry and forced them to spend time together. At the time they wouldn’t admit that they actually liked each other’s company. Over time they became close, and Persephone considered him her son. She felt different from her fellow gods and goddesses because of her relationship with Nico. It almost made her feel human. Nico didn’t know, but she often watched over him. She loved seeing him go about his life and especially now because he was happy. Seeing Nico and Will’s sweet moments warmed her heart.

Persephone continued to grow the roses on her step-son’s cabin window, “Those boys are so cute!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love good mom Persephone. And I also wanna say my absolute favorite Nico cosplayer is @veneer _ I watch their TikToks and they're just so awesome and yeah.


	4. Chapter 4

It was rare everyone could get together. Even though there was no war or world ending event, everyone was still busy. Hazel and Frank had a camp to run, as they were now praetors. Reyna was busy with all of her Hunter of Artemis things and didn’t get a break often. Percy, Annabeth, Piper, and Jason all had college classes. Will was fixing people in the infirmary, and Nico was doing… whatever he did. Lastly, Leo was building things for camp(he was also selling stuff on eBay, but don’t tell Chiron). Since everyone had their own agenda, it made it so much more special when everyone one was able to gather. 

They had been planning to get together for months, and finally they were able to find a time everyone was able to come to New York. They made a whole layout of a day together even though they knew it wouldn’t end up being followed. Leo had even tried to convince Percy and Annabeth to sneak them in a bar during the trip. He claimed that it was “only gonna be one time” and that he was “twenty-one on the inside”. Percy was probably going to say yes, but Annabeth shot that down quickly. Leo had texted their group chat on their new monster proof phones, telling everyone how mean Annabeth was.

They all arrived at camp throughout the day. First was Piper and Jason in the morning who had come by private jet. Reyna came soon after, apparently there was a monster a few cities away the Hunters were going to go after while she was gone. Percy, Annabeth, Hazel, and Frank came later that night. They had decided to come by car, which took them a few days to do. If they were regular mortals they wouldn’t have taken as long, but they had many monster encounters. It was expected though. They had not one, but  _ two _ children of the big three present. They were fine though, nothing they couldn’t handle.

That night they all slept in Cabin Three, having a little sleep over. They all talked for a little bit, but everyone was tired because of how late it was. Not all of them were teenagers anymore so they had a somewhat better sense of needing sleep. The next morning they all ate breakfast together at the Poseidon table.

“Come on Annabeth!”

“Leo no. I am  _ not  _ sneaking you into a bar!”

“Ugghhhhh,” Leo knew he wouldn’t win against Annabeth, “Whatever… I have a fake ID anyway.”

“That was a good night,” Nico reminisced. 

“Oh yeah!” Will recalled the night, “That was awesome!”

Everyone was shocked, “Did you guys use fake IDs to get into a bar?” Jason asked.

“Yes we did,” Nico shrugged, “We all got drunk it was awesome.”

“Yeah,” Will suggestively wiggled his eyebrows, “You and me had fun that night didn’t we,” The shorter playfully punched his boyfriend. He blushed madly and they both laughed together.

“Oh my gods...” Hazel had grown out of fanning herself. She know knew it was wasn't terrible taboo to speak in such a manner, but she was still flustered.

“Did you take Nico’s virginity while drunk?” It was a question, but Reyna said it like a threat.

Scared for his life, the blonde hastily responded, “No! Of course not!”

Jason let out a sigh of relief, “I’m glad my little bro here still has innocence intact,” To everyone’s confusion Leo and Solangelo(people started calling them that) start laughing madly.

Once Nico had calmed down he spoke, “I’m not a virgin,” Leo began laughing harder and everyone’s eyes began darting between the couple. They were all pretty speechless and Will was worried for his safety. Nico was one of the youngest in their group so he had been appointed little brother. Little brother which everyone was protective of. Nico hadn’t been close with them at first, but once he was there was no going back.

“Guys, guys. Let’s just take it down a notch,” Frank spoke up, “If Will and Nico want to… You know, it’s not really our business,” The roman’s words seemed to convince them(Percy, Jason, and Reyna) not to kill the son of Apollo.

Reyna faced the blonde, “You can live,” Will sighed in relief, “For now that is.”

Will thought he was done with the shovel talks, but turns out he was wrong. Thankfully, the conversation shifted to another subject. Piper was whispering to Leo, probably about how he knew about Will and Nico’s… activities. There was a very simple answer to that question, Nico told him. Surprisingly, the two had become very close friends. Besides his siblings, the only person regularly at camp he knew, was Nico. They had started hanging out little by little, and eventually they were best friends. They were the cliche type of friends too. They told each other absolutely  _ everything _ . Nico told his boyfriend mostly everything, but the stuff he couldn’t, Leo probably knew.

“We should probably head out now,” Annabeth said, “Don’t wanna waste daylight.”

Everyone agreed and got ready to leave. They all got in the camp van, which had become very crowded. Percy and Nico both had to double up on their significant others(annoyance in Nico’s case). It was still pretty cramped though. Everyone had brought some form of weapon to defend themselves. They would need to be able to defend themselves against any monsters, and it was inevitable one would show up.

The son of Apollo though was worried about other things. Well, it one only one thing, but it was a big thing. He surprisingly hadn’t told any one, which was eating away at him. He wanted too  _ very _ badly, and was barely able to restrain himself. Will was nervous as his boyfriend sat on his lap. The item in his cargo shorts pocket felt heavier than ever. He knew his fear was stupid. What would randomly cause Nico to reach into Will’s pocket? Probably nothing, but anything could really happen.

“Are you okay?” Nico turned slightly and whispered to the blonde.

The teen in question noticed how fast his heart was beating, “Y-yeah. I’m good kitten,” Will mentally facepalmed himself. Could he be anymore obvious? His father was the god of truth which, in result, made him a  _ terrible  _ liar.

“Ok...” Nico was skeptical, but let it go. Last time Will was acting like this, he let his curiosity get the better of him. Turns out the taller was planning a romantic date, and Nico ruined the surprise. Fortunately for him and his boyfriend, he learned his lesson the first time.

“We’re here!” Jason yelled from the driver's seat. Everyone shuffled out at fast as they could.

“Thank the gods!” Leo exclaimed, “It was so fucking cramped in there!”

“Let’s go buy our tickets,” Reyna said. They nodded and followed her into the building

Will was so nervous he didn’t even realize they were at the zoo until everyone had bought their tickets. The blonde contemplated doing… the thing now, but it was too early in the day. And it wouldn’t be the right place either. Nothing is more romantic than smelly animals.

They gazed at all the enclosures together, and Reyna didn’t enjoy it as much as the others though. Her hunter skills trained her brain in such a way he could only think about how to trap all the innocent animals. Percy had tried to free the fish, but was stopped by Annabeth. They left soon after that, dragging Percy away. He kept complaining about how they weren’t free and deserved justice. If the group had stayed any longer, they would’ve probably been kicked out by some workers.

Next they went to a random mall. Many of them needed and wanted new clothes and such. Will was in awe at the place. It was gigantic and had at least seven stories worth of stores. It was also surprisingly clean for a mall. The floors were white and shiny, most likely cleaned regularly. Nico chose their first destination, the black aesthetic suited him well. The blonde contemplated doing it here. He ultimately decided not to. He would probably never live off the embarrassment of asking such a life changing question in a Hot Topic.

“Solace,” He got out of his thoughts and looked to the voice that called him.

“Yeah Annabeth?”

“There’s a general store next door,” She said, “I need to get some medicine, and I would like your doctor knowledge to help me get the right ones,” Will wasn’t sure why Annabeth had asked for help, She would usually be able to do this stuff by himself, but he shrugged it off. He had bigger things to worry about.

“Got it,” He turned to his short boyfriend, “I’ll be back. I’m just gonna help Annabeth pick out some medicine next door,” Nico nodded, engrossed in all the band tees. As always, Will was a little nervous to leave the teen alone. He always was. Will told himself it was okay. There were plenty of other demigods around him. This gave the blonde some reassurance. 

The blondes headed out Hot Topic and walked next door. They wandered the isles until getting to the medicines, “Ok so-”

“I know what you’re doing Will Solace,” She said calmly while pretending to browse the different medicines.

“W-what do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean,” Annabeth almost laughed at the other blonde playing dumb, “You can’t expect me to  _ not  _ figure it out. You’re terrible at hiding things and you know it.”

Will sighed in defeat, “Is it that obvious?”

“You’ve been acting nervous and jittery all day,” She started, “In the van, you were all anxious when Nico was sitting on your lap. You guys are very cuddly and any other day you would be fine. The only reason you would be nervous is if you were hiding something. Specifically in your pocket. You've been putting your hand in your pocket all day, to make it’s there or nothing happens to it.”

Will put his hand in his pocket, toying with the tiny object, “Do you think he knows?”

“He knows something’s going on, but he trusts you and won’t think about it much,” She gave him a reassuring smile, “I can tell you Reyna knows for sure. She’s too observant not to notice.”

“Yeah...” He uneasily chuckled.

“But are you completely one hundred percent sure about this?” Her expression showed concern as Annabeth finally met the son of Apollo’s eyes, “This is really big,” She didn’t even bother to mention the legal issues.

“Yes,” He confidently confirmed, “I love him so much. More than anything, and I truly mean that. I’ve never been more sure of anything.”

Annabeth smiled, “I’m happy for you Will,” She put a hand on his shoulder, “We’re going to go to the park for lunch when we’re done shopping. Do it then,” Will smiled back and nodded. That  _ was  _ perfect. He wanted all their friends to witness the big occasion.

“Thanks Annabeth.”

“Anytime. And also I will be taking a video so we’ll have it forever,” She smiled even wider than before, finally expressing her big excitement, “I actually need some cold medicine though, pick out the good ones,” The medic chuckled before doing as she asked. 

The pair headed back into Hot Topic. Nico had just finished paying. He had one of the bigger bags, which meant his items were probably pretty expensive. Without a word Will took the bag from his boyfriend. Nico tried to decline his help, but it was no use. He got over it quickly when he showed Will a shirt he had bought him. It was a red dinosaur holding a cup, and under it said “TEA-Rex”. The blonde thanked him for the shirt. He was  _ definitely  _ going to wear it the next day.

Piper was next to pick a store. She chose Claire’s, ironically, so they could make fun of all their merchandise. Jason was a little embarrassed to be seen in the store. He was glad everyone he knew was back in California. Leo on the other hand was embracing it completely. He looked at all the beanie babies, put on some fake glasses, and even bought some cat ear headbands. They walked around for a bit longer after that. Hazel went into a pet shop and bought a toy for Frank. The son of Mars was obviously embarrassed, but knew he would actually end playing with it. He doesn’t like to talk about it, but he often turns into a dog to do dog things.

“We should head to the park now,” Annabeth winked at the son of Apollo, “It’s almost lunch.”

Will coughed nervously as they headed out the mall. Percy got in the driver’s seat this time. Leo doubled on Jason. Thankfully they were good friends and nothing was awkward. Lastly Will and Nico got in next to Reyna. The blonde cursed his heart as his boyfriend leaned back and got comfortable on his lap. It was just like the ride to the zoo. He was sure if his heart beat any faster, it would explode. There was no doubt Nico noticed, but he didn’t say anything this time. He was concerned, but decided to let it go.

The park was closer than expected, and the ride only took about five minutes. Jason got a big picnic blanket from the trunk and they headed for the open grass. There were three food trucks. One of them for hot dogs, another for tacos, and the last one was some kind of vegan tofu place. The blonde felt a tug on his heart as he realized what he was going to do very soon.

“Will!”

“I’m sorry kitten, yes?” He looked down at his smol boyfriend.

“Which truck do you wanna go to?” Nico’s concern grew.

“Um,” The blonde was too distracted to make a decision, “Whatever you want to get.”

Nico took Will’s hand and guided him over to the hot dog truck. Usually his boyfriend would follow, but the son of Hades didn’t think he would by himself. He noticed the other had been off all day. Always distracted, lost in thought. Nico tried not to think about it too much. He trusted the medic. He told himself everything was fine. If there was something was wrong, Will would have told him. The insecure part of Nico was scared though. His mind went to the worst situation. What if Will was going to break up with him? He had had that sliver of doubt in the back of his mind from the beginning of their relationship. No. The brunet shook his head as he ordered their food. Thinking of the worst would get him nowhere.

Will held the tin foil wrapped hot dog in his hands. He was able to stop himself from shaking. He told himself to  _ calm the fuck down _ . The blonde would never forgive himself if he messed all this up, or chickened out. He sat next to his boyfriend on the picnic blanket along with his other friends. Annabeth coughed violently and locked eyes with Will.   


Percy looked concerned for his girlfriend, “You good Annabeth?”

She stared into the son of Apollo's soul, “ _ I’m  _ fine,” The other blonde could somehow tell exactly what she was saying, like she was talking in his mind.  _ Do it now _ .

“Opps!” Will improvised and ‘accidentally’ threw his water behind him, “Can you get that for me?” Piper’s face lit up, finally sensing what was going on. Reyna, like Annabeth said, definitely knew, and gave him a warning glance. Thankfully, Will could tell it was warning him to do this right.

Nico sighed and got up. He turned around, water bottle in hand. To his surprise, he was met with his boyfriend in front of him. The shorter tilted his head in confusion. What was the point of telling Nico to get the water if Will was just going to get up anyway?

“Nico,” the blonde started, “You know I love you right?”

The boy in question nodded, “Will?”

He smiled and took the Italian’s hands, “I would do anything for you. I really would,” The medic grabbed something from his pocket and got down on one knee.

Nico’s hands covered his mouth in shock, “Will?!” His eyes slowly started to tear up.

“You mean so much to me. More than you can imagine,” He looked up into the shorter’s eyes, “I don’t know what I would do without you. You’re the light of my life, and you have been for a long time. I love you so much, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” 

He held the ring up, “Will you marry me?” He said it with as much confidence as he could muster, pushing away his anxiety.

There were now tears streaming down the brunet's face, “B-but I’m sixteen and you’re seventeen,” he explained, “It’s not legal,” His words seemed like he was saying no, but he was concerned that it wouldn’t be possible because of their age.

Fortunately, Will had already thought about this, “I already talked to my mom and your parents. They both agreed to sign the papers so we can. I know all your records are a little weird, but Hades and Persephone said they’d take care of it,” He smiled even wider, “So, what do you say?”

Nico knew this was a big decision.  _ Marriage.  _ He wasn’t even eighteen yet. Being on the spot he didn’t have much time to decide, but his answer had come to him easily, “Yes!” He wiped away his tears of joy, “I will marry you!”

The medic slipped the ring on his  _ fiancé’s  _ hand. The younger one looked at the jewelry. It was a simple gold band with black detailing of a sun and moon. It was so cliche and Nico _ absolutely  _ loved it. He grabbed Will’s hand and pulled him into a close hug, face buried into the taller’s chest.

Still on the picnic blanket, they’re friends witnessed the whole ordeal. Percy, Jason, Piper, Leo, Hazel, and Frank were all crying. Leo the most violent of them all. Reyna would probably not admit it, but there were definitely tears in her eyes. Annabeth looked proud. She had her doubts Will wouldn’t follow through, but he did. She kept on recording their moment, she wanted to have all of it. They would be able to see and recall this moment forever. She smiled at this.

Will whispered to his fiancé, “We’re cute,” The other’s tears had stopped and the blonde’s shirt was wet with them. The shorter wrapped his arms around the blonde’s neck.

Nico giggled and spoke with a smile on his face, “We are cute.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh yay they're happy!!!
> 
> For now


	5. Plus one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW there will be death, murder, suicide, and drug overdose in the chapter. Only read if you're up for it.

Finding happiness was the easy part as a demigod. They could fall in love, make friends, spend time with family. Keeping it was always the catch. Life was dangerous for them. There was always something that wanted to kill them anywhere they went. Along with that, they often had to do the gods dirty work, which can end badly. Peace came for them, but every time they got it, it never seemed to last for long. Demigods always hated themselves for not learning this. Whenever they were happy they failed to remember it wouldn’t last long. It never did. No matter how much they tried or hoped, it always ended. Sometimes they wished they could be normal mortals. Living in blissful ignorance without creatures constantly trying to hunt them down. But no. This was not their fate.

Nico gasp echoed in Will’s ears and his arms tightened around the taller’s neck, “Nico?”

The blonde pulled back to face his fiancé, “Will,” His face was scrunched in pain. The medic gripped him tighter only to discover the fabric of Nico’s shirt was.. wet? The liquid was warm and sticky, and there seemed to be more coming out.

He turned Nico in his arms to look at his back. The black fabric of his shirt blocked Will’s view of the actual wound, but he could tell there actually was one. The red blood seeped through his dark shirt, “Nico?!” Everything was going so wrong. The older’s eyes immediately started to pour. He picked up the smaller teen and hurried him over to the picnic blanket, “No no no no no!”

“Nico!” Will didn’t bother to see who said it.

“Shit!” It was the one day he didn’t have his medical bag. The one time it truly mattered, “I got you Nico just hang on!” He took some of the napkins from their lunch and bundled them together. He gently pushed his fiancé on his side and pulled up the back of his shirt. The wound was small, but it seemed to have hit something important. Definitely a bullet wound. The medic pushed the napkins on the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding, “It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay,” He kept saying the words on repeat. It was more to himself than Nico.

“Will,” He kept putting pressure on the smaller’s back, “Will!”

“I need to save you!” He exclaimed. The blonde tried to blink away the tears as he looked Nico in the eye, “I need to save you! You need to be okay! You n-need to be okay,” His voice cracked at the last word.

“Will stop!” Nico talked through the pain, hot tears rolling down his face. He rolled on his back and grabbed his fiancé’s hands, “I’m not going to make it.”

The son of Apollo refused to believe it, “Yes you are!” He squeezed the other's hand, “We just need to get back to camp and-”

“No,” he winced in pain, “I can sense it. I am going to… I am going to die.”

“No!” Will cried harder. He wiped away some tears smearing some of Nico’s blood on his face, “You can’t!”

Nico put a hand on the blonde’s face, “Yes I will, but it’s okay,” He tried to comfort the teen.

“It’s not okay!” He put his hands on top of the other’s on his face, “I… I can’t live without you! Please don’t go!”

“I love you Will,” The son of Hades knew there was no saving himself. He was just thankful he would get to say goodbye. 

“I love you Nico,” He replied sadly. This was all happening so fast Will couldn’t believe. Minutes ago he had just gotten engaged and now he was watching his love die. He moved Nico’s head to his lap. As much as he didn’t want to admit it he knew the other was right.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t get married.”

“Don’t apologize for anything,” Will told him sadly, “You’ve done nothing. I just wish you could stay longer. I love you so much!” Will somehow found a way to cry even harder.

“I love you too.”

Will held his fiancé tight. He knew there wasn’t much time left and he wanted to make sure every second was used to spend time with the one he loved. Death came for everyone, all people, creatures, or living things, but that didn’t make it any less unfortunate. No one wanted to see Nico go so soon. Will didn’t even know how the bullet got there. One second they were happy and hugging, the next thing they knew, Nico was dying before everyone's eyes. This didn’t seem fair. He had survived so much just to fall now.

“I love you Will Solace.”

“I love you too Nico Di Angelo,” Will barely got to finish before it ended and his fiance's eyes closed forever. Just like that. Nico’s last breath. His last words. He was gone just like that in his love’s arms. 

“No, no, no, no,” The blonde repeated, “I don’t want you to leave!” He cradled the limp body to his chest as his tears continued to stream down his face. He felt so empty. What was he supposed to do now?

“Will,” Annabeth put a hand on his shoulder. Out of all the horrors she had seen, this one had to be the most heart wrenching. It was terribly ironic. She was crying herself, liquid silently streaming down her cheeks. Frank held Hazel as she sobbed and sniffled loudly. Reyna rubbed Piper’s back as she cried herself. She was shocked along with everyone. It had been such a one-eighty. There wasn’t a single dry face on their once happy picnic blanket.

Will shook Annabeth’s hand off his shoulder, “Please don’t,” He looked at the other people there. 

They were all upset, but he knew they didn’t have it as bad. The blonde didn’t think anyone could be feeling as much as did in that moment. Will noticed that Percy, Jason, and Leo were gone. He didn’t have much time to wonder before they were back holding someone by their arms as they struggled. Will had never seen this guy in his life. He couldn’t be older than nineteen and was wearing expensive looking clothes. The trio's hands were occupied so they had no choice but to let hot tears run uncomfortably down their faces.

“Who the fuck is that?” Will spat out.

The other boys probably couldn’t talk through all their crying so Jason did, “He’s the one who did it,” He explained, “He’s the one who shot Nico.”

“Annabeth give me your dagger,” She complied.

The son of Apollo carefully laid his dead lover down and kissed his forehead. Anger and fury did no justice to how Will felt at that very moment. This man, this _mortal_ . Out of all the things that could have killed Nico it was some puny mortal. And with a gun nonetheless. The nerve! The _audacity_.

He walked towards the man, “ _You,_ ” The medic grabbed the front of his shirt, “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

“None of your business!” The stranger said cockily(bad decision).

“Why did you do it?” Will asked as his voice shook.

“None of your business,” The man replied.

Will angrily sighed, “Why did you do it!” He brought the blade up to the man’s neck. He applied just enough pressure so it wouldn’t pierce him.

“Okay! Okay!” He tried to move away from the knife but was held in place by the grieving boys behind him, “It was for a gang! I wanted to join a gang. T-they said I had to kill someone to get in!” The stranger looked scared for his life(as he should be).

“Are you fucking kidding me?” The blonde growled out, “You murdered the love of my life to be in a fucking gang! You and your Gucci belt are gonna regret that. I promise you that,” The man couldn’t help but feel frightened by the teenager in front of him.

His fear grew even more as he got a powerful blow to the face, “Please! Please just let me go! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Please just let me go!” He pleaded, “I-I’ll turn myself in! Y-yeah! To the police! I’ll-I’ll tell them everything, plead guilty. I’ll be in jail! Wouldn’t you like that?” He didn’t care what he had to do. He wanted to live. He didn’t care about the cost, he just wanted to leave.

Will looked broken(which he was). He stepped back and took the blade off the man’s neck. It seemed as if his tears would never stop. They streamed down his face as he radiated calm anger, “No. You are going to die. And then you will get what you deserve.”

The man’s eyes widened. He continued to plead for his life on and on. It was clear he wouldn’t get what he wanted. No one there felt a shred of pity for him. The man didn’t realize that he truly was going to die. It seemed so out of place. It was a bright sunny day with blue skies and not a cloud in the sky. He almost couldn’t believe it. Here he was being threatened by a teenager. A teenager telling him he was going to die. He couldn’t believe the others around weren’t trying to stop him. He realized that shooting that boy was a mistake. It was the biggest regret of his life. His life that wasn’t going to last much longer.

Reyna was almost jealous. She knew the blonde had more right to get rid of this man than she did. She still wished could do it nonetheless. Nico was like the little brother she never had. Being a little sibling, she was always being taken care of by her sister when they were together. Of course when she was a praetor, she watched over her legion, but it wasn’t the same. With Nico she could be a sister and not a leader. Reyna felt like it was part of her duty to protect him. She knew it wasn’t her fault, but she still felt guilt. She didn’t know what she could have done differently. Maybe she could have paid more attention? Been keeping watch? Maybe then she could have stopped this man. The hunter didn’t even know his name, but she knew he was getting what he deserved. 

Percy and Jason could also understand how she felt. Jason treated Nico like a little brother, and he practically was. He was like Nico's first real friend. The events with Eros had brought them close. Having a secret between them made them friends. Better yet, it made them family. For Percy it was a little more complicated. The son of Hades and him had had a difficult relationship. For so long the brunette had blamed him for his sister’s death. There was also that one time with Hades. He had mixed feelings about the boy at that time. Part of him wanted to dislike him. He had betrayed him. The other part of Percy remembered that he was just a boy. Years younger than him and still so much to learn. From then on it’s not like he and Nico were best friends or anything, but he had an understanding of the boy. Years later they had shared experiences with Tartarus and overall demigod life. Nico had led everyone to the doors of death, saving his and Annabeth’s life. After the war they had really become friends. It had taken time, but it happened. 

With the friends he knew gone doing their own thing, Leo was left at camp, and the only person he knew was Nico. They had been nowhere near close on the Argo II, but still they knew each other. It was awkward at first. Nico was more on the private and introverted side while Leo was the most extroverted loud boy you could ever meet. Their differences are what ended making them good friends. No one predicted or suspected that they would end up so close. They were like two giggling disney channel best friends that tell each other everything. Leo knew if the son of Hades had sensed his death he would have told him. He was sure of it.

Jason and Piper were the best of friends. They dated before realizing they had confused their feelings. When they had gotten Diocletian’s spear, Jason was holding something back. Piper could tell. Even after beating around the bush and eventually straight up asking, the blonde would not budge. Piper didn’t understand why Jason wouldn’t tell her. They always shared everything with each other. Later she understood why the son of Zeus never told her. Nico had a secret that came out during their mini quest. She wasn’t told because Jason and Nico were friends. She eventually became close friends with Nico also. She understood even more then. Piper would now do anything for the boy.

Annabeth was kind of like his cool aunt. She gave him good advice and helped him with whatever. She found that she could have an actual adult conversation with him. Her boyfriend was okay, but she could really dig deep with Nico. They could ponder many open-ended questions for hours. Even if their discussion wasn’t about anything important, Annabeth treasured all their moments together. She found herself realizing things she hadn’t even thought to wonder. The son of Hades thought differently than her and she was able to expand her knowledge and how she saw things. Even with all of Annabeth’s smarts, she still didn’t understand how this all could have been happening.

“I hope you rot in the fields of punishment forever,” Will said. He motioned for Percy, Jason, and Leo to let the man go. They didn’t know why, but they trusted the blonde would do something to somewhat satisfy everyone.

Will was acting fully on instinct. He would be lying if he said he had a plan. He had no idea what he was doing, he felt as if his mind was telling his body what to do, with no intent of informing the blonde. Nothing was happening at the moment, but he felt like he was revving up for something. 

The man froze in place for a few seconds before realizing he was free. He started to run away, but quickly crumbled to the ground. He exclaimed because of pain and confusion. Grabbing his leg he saw it was bent. Everyone could tell it was _not_ meant to go that way. He hadn’t even been touched and his leg was completely snapped. He screamed as his mortal brain tried to comprehend what was happening. The stranger had never really believed in magic, but now he was ready to call witchcraft. Even worse he couldn’t get away. He cowered at what these mysterious teenagers might be able to do to him.

Will stared at his hands in disbelief. He had always been gifted with healing. That was his specialty. The medic discovered he could also do the opposite. He had never had much reason to injure someone like this before. Will wondered if he had the power to do this all along. What if he had discovered this instead of his healing gifts? His life might’ve been different. The blonde shook his head. This was no time to ponder. He stopped questioning and continued to harm the man. The son of Apollo focused on what he was doing. He willed himself to keep snapping bone. He didn’t even flinch as the man screamed. The other begged for it to stop, he begged for his life. Will didn’t care though. He was getting what he deserved. 

Nobody tried to stop him either. They all just watched. Anyone else would be afraid, what if Will would hurt them too? Those were the thoughts of mortals though. They knew the man's fate. The friends unanimously agreed that the man deserved everything coming to him. If this were a movie someone would have tried to stop Will. They would go on to preach about “giving second chances”. Or maybe they would talk about “setting an example”. It was the cruel reality, but they were demigods. They were so young and still have seen many horrors. Demigods were known to die young and unfortunately Nico di Angelo was not an exception. Out of all the trauma many of them had gone through, this event was the most heartbreaking. To watch their friend die in the arms of his love. And all because of some mortal. No. No one would even consider trying to stop the son of Apollo.

Will walked forward until he was right in front of the pathetic excuse for life. He laid on his back, not being able to move without immense pain. In any other situation Will would have felt ashamed for his lack of guilt. The man before him was mangled beyond repair, he himself probably couldn’t even scratch the surface of fixing him. The medic part of him wondered if he _should_ spare the man and try to heal him. Wil cursed himself for even thinking it

“Tell me,” He asked, “Why do you want to live?”

“What?” He could barely comprehend what the teen was saying through all the pain.

“You were begging for your life,” Will paused, “Why do you want to live so bad?”

“I-I um,” The question took the man by surprise, “Because… because I-I um… I want to live,” He was a little hopeful. Maybe the boy would give him mercy.

“Well that’s too bad.”

The man gave a quizzical look before he started coughing. As seconds passed it got more and more violent until he was choking. It became evident that the man couldn’t breathe. He gasps trying to take in air, looking like a fish out of water. His attempts got weaker and weaker until they slowed to a stop.

Will crouched down and touched his fingers to the man’s neck, “He’s dead,” Before he had been angry, but now he looked devastated. He was clearly still emotional, but it seemed his tears had run out for the time being.

“We need to get back to camp fast,” Reyna swallowed her feelings and took charge.

“She’s right,” Jason sniffed.

“We need to get that guy’s body too,” Annabeth took a shaky breath, “Better we take it before someone finds it.”

“We can’t fit him in the van though,” Piper pointed out. Leo nodded at her observation.

“I c-can t-take Will and… N-nico,” Hazel stuttered. She struggled to get her words out through all her crying, “I can s-shadow travel them t-to c-camp. I-I've been p-practicing,” She tried to steady her breaths

“Come on guys,” Percy unenthusiastically pointed to the camp vehicle, “I’ll drive.” 

Leo cried into Jason’s side as they trudged to the car. Piper and Annabeth found comfort in each other, holding each other in a depressing side hug. Percy and Frank stood close to each other. Both being in New Rome they had time to become closer. Apart from the rest, Reyna walked by herself. She seemed to be okay with it though. She was the type to grieve silent and alone.

Will’s heart broke for the millionth time that day as he picked up Nico’s limp body. He let Hazel put a hand on his shoulder as they were enveloped in shadows. The blonde hated it every time he had done it, but it was necessary. They appeared in the middle of all the cabins back at camp. Hazel swayed on her feet.

Will spotted his brother, “Austin! Come make sure Hazel is okay,” He didn’t wait for an answer before bolting off.

He ran as fast as he could with the boy in his arms, “Lou Ellen!” He stood in the door of the Hecate cabin, “I need you! It’s important!”

The girl in question raised her head, “What is it- Oh my gods,” She saw the body and blood on Will's face, “Is he-”

The medic almost burst into tears again, “Yes,” He tried to calm himself with a deep breath, “You need to put some kind of preservation spell on him. I don’t if you can, but you need to try,” He pleaded.

Lou Ellen felt as she could feel the sadness rolling off him. Waves that hit her too. Her eyes teared up as she nodded, agreeing to help the blonde. Nico had been her friend too. She raked her brain for spells. She quickly remembered one that might work. She shakily raised her hands over the body in Will’s arms. A crowd of her siblings and other campers formed around them. A purple light shimmered over Nico’s body.

“I think it w-worked,” She said quietly.

Will nodded weakly, then headed out the cabin. He held Nico as close as he could to his chest. The couple had been in a situation like this many times. The sleep deprived boy often fell asleep, which resulted in his significant annoyance having to carry him back to his cabin. Of course this time, the Italian wasn’t sleeping.

People stared as the blonde trekked on. He didn’t care though. Soon enough they were at the infirmary. Will hadn’t exactly been trying to go anywhere specifically. It was probably just muscle memory. He almost scoffed at his actions. Thankfully there were no patients in at the moment. He laid Nico’s body down on the cot and pulled up a chair. He held the boy’s cold hand and rested his head against the cot. Will didn’t think he had it in him to look at Nico’s face.

Sometime later(Will didn’t even know) Chiron walked in with his friends, “Oh my boy,” The blonde couldn’t tell who it was directed at, “I am so sorry,” The centaurs eyes teared up.

More and more campers filing into the infirmary. Most of them couldn’t even believe it. The great Nico di Angelo, Ghost King, son of Hades. A son of the big three. He had gone through so much shit. Zeus killed his mother, he was in a hotel for seventy years, his sister died. He survived alone for years, navigated through the labyrinth, and discovered the Roman camp. He could command ghosts, open the ground, shadow travel, travel through dreams, raise skeletons from the ground, and even send people straight to hell. He had survived Tartarus all by himself and seen all the horrors without mist. The sixteen year old had gone through so much trauma, but best of all he had _survived_ it. And how did he die? A mortal with a gun. The great Nico di Angelo’s legacy was ended by a single gunshot wound to the back.

There was a low hum of discussion in the room. Most of the camp was probably there. Will couldn’t handle it. They all watched as he silently grieved his loss. He suddenly got up and left the room. He decided he would give them a chance with the brunette. The blonde was important to the boy. He was his fiancé after all. But he understood that other people loved him too. He would give them some time before he kicked them all out. He went to his cabin to wait. He tried to keep his mind blank, but failed. He thought about what he was going to do. Without _him_.

“Hey,” Kayla sat next to him, “I know you’re probably not okay, but I wanted to check up on you.”

“You’re right,” He sighed. Any other day he would have tried to give his sister a smile, but today was hard, “I am not okay.”

“I know I can’t fix anything, but is there anything I can do?” She thought it was a longshot, but she was desperate to hello her brother in any way.

“Actually there is something you could do,” Kayla perked up, “I want some time alone with Nico. Everyone’s crowding him, but I want it to be just us. No one watching from the windows, waiting outside, or spying in any way. Only for like thirty minutes. I want to know it’s only us.”

Kayla nodded determinedly and left. When she came back she simply gave him a nod. It had been difficult to convince everyone to leave, but still she had accomplished it. At that moment Kayla would have done just about anything for her brother. She was worried for him. The love of his lifehad died. In his arms no less. Kayla set a timer for half an hour on her monster-proof phone. She wanted to respect her brother's wishes, but she didn't want him to be alone either.

Will went out of his cabin and walked to the infirmary as fast as he could. He didn’t have the energy to run. As promised, no campers were in or around the infirmary. Will wished he could thank his sister.

He walked in, “Hello? Anybody?” There was no response

Will sat down in a chair next to Nico’s cot. His heart gave a tug as he looked down at his fiancé. If he didn’t know any better, the blonde would have mistaken for a living person. The spell casted by Lou Ellen made sure there were no changes with his body. The medic doubted a body would decay that fast, but still. It felt like a stab to the chest when he grabbed Nico’s hand. A painful reminder. It was cold. Too cold. The son of Hades was usually colder than the average person, but now he was like ice. That only happened when you were dead.

Will sighed, “You were gone too soon. I know demigods aren’t supposed to live long, but I hoped we could be an exception. You’ve gone through so much,” His voice cracked as he began to cry again, “You've dealt with unimaginable horrors. And only to be shot by a mortal. You were so strong. We were having such a good day too. You said yes. I’ve loved you for so long. I’ve never told anybody this, but I’ve been in love with you since those fateful three days,” He put on a sad smile, “I love you so much. I didn't know what to do without you as you died in my arms, and I don’t know what to do now.”

He paused to wipe some of the uncomfortable tears from his face, “Before you I had nothing. I mean I had friends and siblings, but it wasn’t enough. My siblings all had amazing gifts, but I was just some healer. When I came to camp I discovered I was good at healing pretty quickly. I liked that I could help my friends, but I felt useless. I didn’t fight monsters or go on quests. I’ve been doing it since before I was twelve. You’ve been on adventures and helped save the world. And what do I do? Put on bandaids. I was good at hiding it though. I put on a smile and everyone didn’t give it a second thought. They all thought I was happy optimistic Will. They were wrong though. By the time the war with Gaea came along, I was close to ending it. I thought about it everyday,” He brushed some of Nico’s hair out of his pale face, “Of course that was until you. I think it was love at first sight. Well not really because I knew you before from when we were younger. Anyways, you made me feel something. I instantly had a crush on you. I will admit that you probably didn’t need to be in the infirmary for three whole days. I just… I just wanted to spend time with you. And I fell in love. Hard and fast. I got so attached. I wanted to keep you in the infirmary forever. I always freaked out when you got hurt because I was scared. I didn’t want you to get hurt or even lose you. I guess it’s too late though. I did end up losing you.”

Will got up and went to the closet where they kept all the medicine. Some campers had gotten pretty injured during the most recent war. The painkillers they had weren’t doing the job. They weren’t strong enough to help the campers. Somehow Chiron had managed to get his hands on some morphine. After everyone had healed they didn’t have much use for the substance. The campers didn’t get hurt that bad often. Will knew all about the drug. He had to research and know about it before he gave it to the campers. He grabbed a syringe and looked at the tiny bottles of the painkiller. One hundred milligrams would be fatal in only ten minutes. Will grabbed two hundred.

He sat down back next to Nico and worked on getting all the liquid into his syringe, “I became dependent on you. You were my crutch. You were my driving force, the reason I woke up in the morning. Most of the things I did were for you, and I liked it that way. I would do anything for you, and I liked it. You loved me, gave me purpose. It’s kind of funny. Everyone thought it was you depending on me, Including you. But it was always the other way around. I love you so much. I love you with every fiber of my being. I meant what I said earlier. I can’t live without you,” He inserted the needle into his arm and sighed, “And I won’t. I can’t live without you. I need you. It’s better things go like this though. I don’t want everyone to worry about me. They don’t have to worry about me being sad,” He grasped Nico’s hand again and rested his head on the cot, “I agree with you. I’m sorry we couldn’t get married either. I love you so much. I love you Nico di Angelo.”

It was fine for a little while until the pain hit. It was horrible, but Will sat through it. He managed to keep a tight hold on Nico’s hand. He struggled to breathe properly, but found comfort in the fact it would be over soon. Everything was so intense. The pain built and built until it was gone. When the pain was gone, so was William Andrew Solace.

-

“It’s been half an hour," Kayla promised she would tell the group when the minutes had passed.

They were all pretty shaken up. They had to endure a whole car ride to camp with the body Will had mangled. Although it was dark, Reyna was impressed. Leo had burned the body, but the broken bones were left. You wouldn’t have known it had one been a man. They managed to hide the body from some of the younger campers, but not everyone. Seeing the body had even made a few campers throw up. They could barely believe Will Solace had done it. He was known as a healer. Now he could break bones without a single touch. It was a lot for many to swallow.

Annabeth walked in the front of the group, “Will?” The group walked further in, “Will?”

Hazel gasped and quickly buried her face in Frank’s chest, “Oh gods,” To everyone else it looked like the blonde could be sleeping, but Hazel was a daughter of Pluto. She scolded herself for not noticing sooner.

“Is he...” Piper asked.

Hazel sobbed as she nodded into Frank’s chest, “I-I… I don’t know why I h-hadn’t noticed it s-sooner!” Her voice was muffled.

This was all too much. They had just lost Nico and now Will was gone too. Leo felt empty. Jason was shocked. Percy felt like he couldn’t breathe. There was a lump in Frank’s throat as tears threatened to spill. Piper was crying. Annabeth wondered what she could have done differently. Reyna wanted to disappear. Again, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. Annabeth led them out of the infirmary, she didn’t want her friends to have to look any longer.

Security cameras had been placed in the infirmary about a week before. They were installed so the Apollo cabin could always check on their patients. They surveyed, but also recorded. It had taken Leo awhile to perfect it so monsters wouldn’t come flocking. The grieving demigods headed to Apollo cabin. Frank had broken off from them to get Chiron and tell him what had happened. Reyna hoped the cameras would tell them how. No one dared touch Will's body and it seemed Hazel didn’t know. 

Chiron arrived in the cabin shortly after the group of demigods. They pulled up the footage up and watched. They listened to what Will said with heavy hearts. No one knew he had been feeling that way for so long. Annabeth scolded herself for not noticing. They watched as he spilled his feelings to Nico’s dead body. Everyone was silent. It was both in grief and awe as they listened to the blonde’s confession. In the video Will injected himself with a syringe full of harmful liquid.

Everyone grieved once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was writing this during one of my zoom classes and I literally had to stop because my eyes were tearing up. I may or may not have gotten my morphine knowledge from Knives Out. I had such a good time writing all of the chapters. I think this is the first fic I ever finished. Also I was thinking about writing an epilogue of sorts. It would be of Nico greeting Will in Elysium, to warp things up a bit. Anyways, thank you so much for reading and stay safe!

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, and thank you for reading! All of the chapters are already written and I'll be posting one a day(or sooner). I hope you enjoy!


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